Chapter 9
Dennis didn’t seem to hear a word Camille said. His gaze remained fixed on me.
His voice was laced with a raw, pleading edge. “Tracy, listen to me. I regret everything. It was all my fault. I didn’t cherish you
when I should have. Please, just give me one more chance.”
“Chance?” I let out a cold laugh. My eyes locked with his, distant and unforgiving. “Dennis, do you honestly think you’re still in a
position to ask for that?”
“I know I was wrong,” he said, his voice sinking into a deeper, almost desperate tone. “I shouldn’t have ignored you. I shouldn’t
have listened to others. Every mistake–every single one–was mine. I’ll change. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just… forgive me.”
The words tumbled out of him, trembling and laden with vulnerability. “Just say the word, and I’ll do anything.”
Camille’s face twisted with fury, her voice cutting through his entreaty. “Dennis, you told me you only loved me! You said that!”
“Shut up!” Dennis snapped. The icy contempt in his eyes silenced her instantly. “I made it clear to you long ago. Nothing you say
matters to me anymore.”
Her face went pale, as if he had struck her. But the pallor soon gave way to defiance. “You can’t do this to me, Dennis! Have you
forgotten everything we shared? And besides–do you even know she’s already with someone else?”
The accusation hit like a blow, but I didn’t flinch. Steeling myself, I replied evenly, “Dennis, I’ve already died once. Just think of
me as truly dead. Let’s both move on.”
“No!” He raised his head abruptly, his voice laced with despair. “Tracy, I can’t accept that! Hate me, despise me, hit me if you must–but don’t say you’re gone for good. Please, I’m begging you, come back to me.”
A heavy ache tightened my chest, but I forced myself to remain calm. “Dennis, what you’ve always wanted isn’t me. What we had
was a mistake from the start.”
He shook his head firmly, his voice steady despite the anguish in his eyes. “No, it wasn’t. I was the one who made the mistake, I
was blind, and I was a fool. It wasn’t until you left that I realized just how much you meant to me.”
